Chapter Text
Intro
Danny had never had a fight with Rachel. When she had crashed into his car, he was polite and helpful. When they fell in love, he mirrored Rachel's anxiety and rage about his dangerous job with calm. As she got pregnant and had her moods, he did what she asked for without one moment of reluctance.
Even as he realized that they were separating more from each other with every single day passing by, he had stayed quiet. He had loved her and wanted her to be happy, but Rachel wasn't happy. One time she told him, that being a cop's wife was something that she had never wanted.
Maybe it had been that day when he realized there was no future for them. Danny let her go with one last kiss, as she found a man who could make her happy.
They divorced and even though he felt his heart break, he didn't say anything. It wasn't Rachel's fault and one day he might agree with her that it wasn't his fault either. They were just not meant to be together. Danny had spent happy years with Rachel and never had a fight, until the day came when she decided it would be best for Grace to live with her mother.
That day, Danny started to fight. He fought for his daughter so she could stay by his side like she wanted. For once in his life he couldn't give Rachel what she wanted and she understood his motives. After they had put up a fight over Grace and the court had decided that a child should have a solid home and environment which Rachel couldn't provide, because her new husband, Stan, was a businessman and traveling all the time it was sealed. Gracie would stay with her father.
The court had seen his infinite love for his daughter and even though he was a detective which was a risk that no one could deny, they had decided it was best for Grace to stay with Danny instead of following her mother to every destination that Stan called his new job location.
They even gave Danny the sole custody and Rachel left the courthouse without another word. Danny had seen it in her eyes. The defeat and the pain it caused to let her child go, but he could also see the undeniable love that she still felt for him, like he did for her.
She had thanked him for letting her live her life and told him that she would give him the same gift back and that even though it hurt her to let her child go, she would do it, because she trusted him and knew he loved Grace more than his own life. For once she decided against her will and gave in to Danny and he couldn't love her more for that. They both had agreed to keep contact over telephone, mail and video conversations.
Their goodbye was filled with tears, laughter and the promise of a reunion at Grace's birthday as they both moved on into different directions, not knowing that life had other plans for them.
It was soon after, that Danny got a call and was told that Rachel and Stan had died in a tragically car accident while they were in Italy for vacation.
A young man that had been drunk crashed into their car. They had been stuck and couldn't get out as the car caught fire and burned down completely before help arrived.
Danny hadn't the heart to tell Grace the complete truth about her mother's death, so he had settled to the half truth and told her it had been a car accident caused by someone who had drunk too much alcohol. Since that day Danny had nightmares every single night, watching with his own eyes as his ex-wife died and he kept seeing Rachel in each and every face he looked at. Each gray building in Jersey, the police department he had worked at and even the skyline, reminded him of his ex-wife and their time there together.
He realized that he would never be able to move on into a new life and help Grace to get over their loss if he stayed in Jersey. So he had moved on literally.
He left his family and past behind and started a new life as a single father in Hawaii. Grace's feelings had brightened up in the new environment and she was happy here while Danny got used to the new place sooner than he thought he would.
All those circumstances had brought him here and somehow he and Grace had managed to return to a quite normal life within a bit more than just a year.